A new report by 20 Minuten has revealed where people in Switzerland are hoping to visit on holiday this year. With most to all COVID-related restrictions gone, travel agents have told the newspaper that families and individuals from the alpine nation are looking to treat themselves to bigger rooms and more luxurious destinations.
Speaking to the newspaper, Hotelplan spokesperson Bianca Gähweiler said that the number of holidays being booked with them has largely returned to pre-COVID levels. “The Swiss still have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to vacations,” she noted.
Markus Flick, a spokesperson for Kuoni, said that people now have the confidence to book trips in advance as they no longer have to worry about any COVID or travel restrictions being announced just before their holiday. Both companies say they are hoping that the number of bookings in 2023 will reach the levels seen in 2019 - a record year for tour operators in Switzerland.
Interestingly, Gähweiler said that “we have noticed that many Swiss people book higher hotel and room categories or go on vacation for two weeks instead of just one. We explain this, among other things, by the fact that many were able to save during the pandemic - their travel budgets are full. There is also a great need to travel, to get to know new cultures and to leave everyday life in Switzerland behind.”
This year, some of the most popular holidays are those that are personalised, with Gähweiler noting that individual road trips in the US, Canada, Costa Rica and Tanzania are selling like hotcakes. Flick added that sustainability is also very important, with more families choosing night trains and other public transport services over flying whenever possible.
For those looking to go on a holiday this spring, Flick announced that Kuoni’s most popular destinations from Switzerland are the Maldives, Paris, Egypt, Thailand and the Canary Islands. For Hotelplan, Egypt and Greece were followed by Cyprus, Turkey and Mallorca, and for Globetrotter, Thailand, Vietnam, Sicily, Tanzania and Kenya were top of the wishlist for Swiss travellers.
For the summer, in the words of Gähweiler, "The trend for the coming months is for old friends: classic beach holidays around the Mediterranean," with Greece occupying the top spot for Hotelplan. They were followed by Cyprus, Turkey and Spain, and with entry requirements eased, the US has regained its popularity in 2023, placing fifth.
For Kuoni, the Med was also the top destination for the summer, with first-place claimed by the Balearic Islands, followed by Rhodes, Kos and Crete. In a surprise addition, people are also keen to jet off from Swiss airports to Iceland this summer, with the Atlantic island nation placing fifth.
Globetrotter, being a more “adventure type” travel agent, had quite the eclectic mix of top destinations. Their top five were tours of the US, Scandinavia, Japan, Canada and southern Africa.
Where are you jetting off to this summer? Let us know in the comments below!